Jakarta | Indonesia

Thanks to the high school basketball tournament over the weekend, we celebrated our fifth 3-day weekend since Christmas break by taking a trip to Jakarta. It was a much-needed getaway to civilization. I don't mean that to sound derogatory towards where I currently reside, but high-speed internet and air-conditioning are nice once in awhile! Here's a quick instagram overview of our trip:

We got up Saturday morning and drove to Solo, about an hour away. Luckily our flight was only delayed an hour (which is a comparatively short delay in Indonesia). Upon arriving, Kari and I hit up Grand Indonesian mall for some much needed culinary normalcy. After browsing the food court, we topped off our meal with a Dairy Queen Blizzard. Yes, Blizzard. Yum.

Our hotel was super posh and in a great location across from two malls. But, getting there involved walking across a footbridge littered with various Indonesian trinkets for sale. Here's a view of the infamous Jakarta traffic from the bridge: 

The next day, we woke up and went to church...real church. We even got a headset with an English translation. After the service, we immediately hopped on a bus to the nearest Domino's.

Indonesia has left me feeling somewhat pizza deprived, thanks to many ketchup substitutes, so I'm proud to say that I downed a whole 10" pizza, by myself. It even had real pepperoni's. I also got to enjoy the big-city conveniences of an English-language bookstore and Coffee Bean. Simultaneously. I also discovered the joys of bubble tea.

The weekend culminated with the piercing of my cartlidge. The internet is a bit slow this week so I can't upload the video, compliments of Kriston (it involves some squealing) but with a sealed, sterilized needle and some latex gloves it was a success!

In other news, international day took place today (we presented France)...posts to follow this weekend.

Also, my passport is on it's way back from the Indian embassy in Jakarta, with a new visa, which means 

I'M GOING TO INDIA!!!! 

One week from Saturday. Yesssssss.

To get the rest of you as excited as I am for this backpacking adventure, here is some vintage inspiration:

School | Growing Cilantro

Unfortunately, the rain got to it first. It was about 2 pm and Pak Budi came by my classroom with a giant plastic bag. Inside was my Valentine's package. Although it was sweet of him to deliver, it was strange because normally I have to go to the business office to pick up packges.

You might notice that this box appears to be yellow which might not seem weird except that the boxes from the USPS are white, not yellow. My box is yellow because it was haphazardly taped back together. Once I opened the plastic bag, I figured out why the business office wanted nothing to do with it:

I was almost knocked off my feet by the smell alone. Not only did I find coffee, salsa, soap, and books, but I also found some critters who had decided to hole up in the damp, fuzzy surroundings of my box. If you look closely, you can see the green dots that penetrated the cardboard.

I obviously reconized the mold (green and white fuzz) and the coffee grinds but was befuddled by the larger chunks that were also omnipresent. After Laura helped me salvage the belongings inside, I discovered that the large chunks were the cilantro seeds that had begun to sprout. At least we know that it can grow here!

At my request, my medicine had been stashed inside the bag of coffee beans, so that it wouldn't be taken by the customs guys. Unfortunately, it was apprehended in the course of this journey :( 

Eloise (above right) was looking pretty rough and my Valentine's letters are decomposing under a blanket of white fuzz but on the bright side, everything else except the salsa made it!

Roti Bakar | Salatiga | Indonesia

Check. This. Out.

Most of you might think that this looks like the leftovers from a restaurant that you might feed to your dog, but I can assure you that what you are looking at is by far the BEST culinary treat that Indonesia has to offer. This is roti bakar. Another Indonesian street food, roti bakar literally means grilled bread...although, the term bread should be used loosely with this particular dish. Instead of explaining roti bakar, I took video of the woman preparing this delicacy on the cart in front of her house.

Take a loaf of bread. Make three butterfly-style cuts. Slather with layers of butter, chocolate sprinkles and condensed milk. Repeat for all three sections. Place on an open grill. Toast until golden brown. Add more butter just for kicks. Enjoy under tent. Die of heart attack.

School | Nissin and Coca Cola Field Trip

Today, I hit an important landmark as a teacher: my first field trip. Fortunately, Ibu Maria, the Indonesian instructor, arranged for the whole thing and I just got to go along for the ride! Our first stop was the Nissin Biscuit factory in Ungaran (somewhere between here and Semarang). Pardon the rough quality of this picture, I took it while some of my girls blocked for me and the guard accompanying us was looking the other direction (I momentarily felt like a spy on an espionage mission :)

You know that saying about a kid in a candy store? It should be changed to the kid in a biscuit factory. After asking a plethora of questions ranging from the annual salary of a worker to which biscuit was best, the kids made their way to the shop and managed to purchase enough to last them well past Valentine's Day.

Of course, after buying so many biscuits, crackers, and wafers (pronunced waffers) the kids needed something to wash it down with, so we headed to the Coca-Cola factory.

After an unlimited flow of Coke, we watched several promotional videos (entirely in Indonesian) before heading to the factory floor. Before I was told to stop taking pictures, I snagged this shot of the bottling process (which is quite different here since mostly glass bottles are dispensed, recycled and refilled). In the top right corner, you can see the two-story dishwasher...pretty cool!

 Planning ahead for my unrational fear of vomit, I bribed the students in my car with a prize if all of them made it back without puking. It worked for my car but unfortunately for the bus the temptation of endless soda and cookies was too much to bear and four went down on the ride home. And now, since the bell has rung, I'm off to a much-needed shower and nap!

Chinese New Year | Solo City | Indonesia

Here in Indonesia, Chinese New Year is a national holiday which resulted in our third consecutive three-day weekend. Because my roomate's sister was coming into town (hint hint Haley) we decided to make a weekend of going to pick her up. Since none of us had spent much time in Solo, that's where we flew her into. I spent the majority of our weekend here, by the pool:

Yes, in January, I spent the weekend by the pool...one good perk of living on the equator! We went to several malls and saw not one but TWO movies in a real theater!

We also got to see some Chinese New Year celebrations and try some new, yummy treats. My favorite one we dubbed "The Bun". I have no idea what the actual name is but I was also able to sample one of these sweet and savory treats in Hong Kong. It's basically a white, sticky bun filled with a variety of savory and sweet choices. I have experienced both barbecued pork and choclat (which was actually red bean) but the latter of the two was my favorite:

We were fortunate enough to see the Solo Fashion Show, which featured come pretty interesting apparel:

Her hair was quite possibly my favorite but unfortunately, it got cut off in the picture. More interesting, perhaps, were her shoes. Platform gladiators, minus a stiletto or any form of heel. Pretty impressive that the models were able to make it down the runway in those!

I leave you with one more final image from the poolside, for all of you who are stateside and will hopefully experience some real winter-weather soon!

I'm a Pepper!

Rumor began circulating around Salatiga, early last week, that Dr. Pepper had landed in Salatiga. I was skeptical for several days until two of my colleagues showed up at recess, drinking Dr. Pepper!

Apparently, it was being stocked at Toko Jimmy's, which I have heard about since my arrival but never visited. After recieving a make-shift map (streets aren't labeled anyways) I drove to the outskirts of Salatiga, where I saw a small white sign on a moss-covered fence, indicating I had found the alley leading to Jimmy's. Toko Jimmy's is literally in the living room of someone's house BUT check it out!:

Yes, that's a 12 pack...and it only cost $12. Yes, $12. And worth every penny :)

I was so excited, I had to do something special:

Also, equally as rare as Dr. Pepper, was a package of pork (yes, pork!) bacon in the freezer section. Since the pig is considered unclean in the muslim faith, pork products are rather difficult to come by here. Two homeruns in one day. Despite it's location, Jimmy's is definitely on my regular shopping route now!

Seoul | South Korea

Last weekend, I stopped through Seoul on the way back to Indonesia. Aside from the freezing cold weather and my lack of jacket, it was a pretty awesome city!

Above: an ancient palace that we toured in the middle of the city. 

Ever heard of the lover's bridge in Paris? Korea has one too! Couples can attach a padlock to the fence to symbolize their eternal love. This stretched the entire perimeter of the outlook point. Wonder how many of them are still together?

 

My hotel was on top of one of these shops. Great location!

Another part of the palace. Note the frozen pond around the island.

Juxtaposition of old and new.

And for those of you on the Hollon side of the family, I got to meet up with Eddie and his family for a few minutes during their housewarming party Saturday night.

Hong Kong coming soon!